1897 Albert Chandler born, Carlisle.
(1925-26).

A schoolboy player with Carlisle, Bert enlisted as a soldier during World War I, serving in France and Germany with the Border Regiment and the Machine Gun Corps.

Promoted to Sergeant and recovering from being gassed days before the Armistice was signed, Chandler was demobilised in October 1919 and signed for Derby County.

Debuting at left back two months later, he soon switched flanks, although briefly playing at centre forward for the Rams during 1920 following a successful reserve team trial.

Also working as an office clerk for the LMS railway, Bert lived in nearby Belper and was selected for an England Amateur XI side in 1922 despite Derby's impending relegation.   

Described as a "shrewd, virile and gallant defender", an unexpected transfer to Newcastle was concluded in June 1925, the player writing a letter to the Derby Daily Telegraph expressing his thanks for the support and appreciation from Rams fans.  

Joining for a fee of £3,250, it transpired that Chandler had been on United's wanted list since playing against them the previous year during a four game FA Cup marathon tie. 

The right back made his bow in a 2-2 draw at Bolton Wanderers in August 1925. 

Within two months however he was reported to be "quite out of favour with the Newcastle United selectors" and playing for the club's North Eastern League XI.

Although subsequently restored to the senior side - albeit at left back on occasion - Bert remained unhappy with life at Gallowgate and was one of five players to be transfer-listed in September 1926.

"Tyneside has not suited me like Derby air did" he wrote in a newspaper article during which he also lamented the size of the fee he'd attracted when leaving the Rams.

Quickly agreeing a move to Sheffield United, a return to form came at Bramall Lane and he gave a standout performance for the Blades at Gallowgate in October 1927.

Transfer-listed in 1929, Chandler moved to Kent-based amateurs Northfleet - Sheffield United retaining his registration after setting his price at £1,000 and getting no takers.

It later transpired that he'd been blacklisted by the FA for embezzling Players Union subscriptions paid to him by Sheffield United colleagues.

Ending his playing days with Holmstead (in his native Carlisle), Bert died in January 1963.

1983 Hugo Miguel Ferreira Viana born Barcelos, Portugal. (2002-06)

An £8.5m signing from Sporting Lisbon who arrived with a reputation of being one of the most talented and sought-after youngsters in Europe - the signing an alleged testament to our allure & spending power.....

A full international debut at the age of 18 and a (non-playing) place in the 2002 World Cup squad all promised great things - as did some devastating displays in the U21 European Championships that summer.

Unfortunately the physical side of our game didn't suit Hugo - his early form and a debut goal again Zeljeznicar in the Champions League followed by some poor displays.

The high point in his Newcastle career came in November 2002 when Hugo's volley put us 2-0 ahead away to Feyenoord - a game we famously went on to win 3-2.

European qualification was achieved that season with Viana weighing in at the death by scoring in successive games, at home to Birmingham and away at West Bromwich Albion - his only Premiership strikes.

That was a positive ending to a season in which a shoulder injury saw him lose a central midfield berth, ending up instead understudying Laurent Robert on the left.

He'd also got the wrong side of then-boss Bobby Robson after suggesting that he would prefer to go out on loan rather than be a bit-part player in Toon - Juventus suggested as one possible destination.

2003//04 began on a low note for the club with a penalty shootout defeat at SJP by Partizan Belgrade ruining Champions League hopes - Viana having been subbed before the dreaded spot kicks were taken.

With no regular spot in the side and his chances of selection for host country Portugal's Euro 2004 squad receding, Hugo again sought a loan deal in December 2003.

A mini-injury crisis though scuppered that, with Lee Bowyer's absence and the sale of Nobby Solano seeing Hugo retained by Bobby - despite Chairman Freddy Shepherd having set up a loan (to Sporting Lisbon).

An injury to Jermaine Jenas belatedly saw him in central midfield for the tail end of the season, including the home leg of the Marseille UEFA Cup tie.

However while his moments on the pitch saw him selected in a non-playing role for Euro2004, his lack of presence made a departure from Tyneside inevitable.

Viana was booed on when appearing as sub in what proved to be his last game for the club, at home to Wolves in May 2004 - although he was an unused sub as we then secured UEFA Cup qualification with draws at Southampton and Liverpool. 

Within a matter of weeks a season-long loan deal was negotiated withformer club Sporting Lisbon - whom we ended up facing three times in the UEFA Cup the following season and once in a friendly (Viana didn't feature in any of them).

May 2005 then saw him appear for the final three minutes of the UEFA Cup final as Sporting were beaten 3-1 at their own Alvalade Stadium by CSKA Moscow.

No permanent deal could be struck with the Portuguese side however and Hugo returned to SJP for pre-season training, being named as a non-playing sub in our home Intertoto Cup game with Dubnica.

Late July saw him listed on the teamsheet when our reserves played a friendly at Hartlepool. However he was absent from the squad at Victoria Park, amid rumours of a move to Spain (Germany was also mentioned as a possible destination).

Viana joined Valencia on loan and a £1.7m fee saw him move there permanently in March 2006.

The World Cup in Germany then saw Viana appear in the Portugal side and become the subject of some "whatever happened to..." type articles in the UK press.

His pitch time though amounted to eight minutes against Angola and a sub outing against England in Schalke for the final 16 minutes and the half an hour extra time.

Viana stepped up to take his spot kick in the resultant shootout - and blasted his effort against the post. You can take the player out of Newcastle, but....

Loaned to fellow Spanards Real Osasuna, Hugo was then borrowed by Sporting Braga back in his native Portugal - with no sign of Newcastle picking up a single Euro from their sell-on clause.

Making the move to Braga permanent in 2010, Viana was pictured a year later playing against Porto, wearing a white T-shirt with the words, "Gary - Rest In Peace" a tribute to his deceased former SJP colleague Gary Speed.

And July 2012 saw him appear for Braga against the Magpies during a pre-season tournament staged in Faro - moving on to the Al Ahli Club in Dubai a year later.

By 2015, Hugo had moved on to another Dubai-based club, this time Al-Wasl and he hung up his boots in October 2016.

Viana made a surprising return to the UK in 2024 when Manchester City announced he would be their new Director of Football.

1989 Martin Dubravka born Zilina, Slovakia (2018-25)

Arriving on loan from Sparta Prague in the final hours of the January 2018 transfer window, goalkeeper Martin began his career in 2009 at hometown club Zilina, playing for them in the Champions League in 2010.

2014 saw him move to Danish side Esbjerg, before returning to the Czech Republic two years later with Slovan Liberec. 

The Slovakian international completed a transfer to Sparta Prague in July 2017, making 15 league and cup appearances for them before joining United.

Sitting on the bench for a 1-1 draw at Crystal Palace, Dubravka debuted in a 1-0 home victory over Manchester United - making a series of excellent saves. 

Making a dozen appearances and quickly establishing himself as a crowd favourite, Martin's loan deal was converted into a permanent move in late May 2018.

Ironically, less than a year later it was a mistake from the 'keeper that helped the Red Devils win 2-0 at SJP, spilling a Marcus Rashford free-kick to Romelu Lukaku.

Despite the replacement of Rafa Benitez by Steve Bruce ahead of the 2019/20 season, Dubravka remained first-choice at SJP - also helping Slovakia to reach a Euro 2020 playoff semi-final.

Despite sustaining a heel injury while back in Slovakia, Martin began pre-season training with United only to then undergo surgery that sidelined him until early 2021 - Karl Darlow having  become first choice by then.

He finally returned to the first team in November 2021 after Darlow made a number of crucial errors but Dubravka was guilty of some of his own as United's awful 2021/22 campaign continued.

The arrival of Nick Pope saw Dubravka opt to join Manchester United on loan as he sought regular first team football.

In the event though he was even further down the pecking order at Old Trafford, playing just twice in the League Cup before opting to return to Tyneside in December.

Surprisingly in goal for the FA Cup defeat at Sheffield Wednesday, he then returned the bench as cover for Pope in the PL home victory over Fulham on his birthday.

However that undistinguished spell as a Red Devil would see him ineligible to replace the suspended Pope in the Carabao Cup Final Dubravka looking on as Loris Karius made an unexpected Magpies bow at Wembley.

Another unintended consequence of that loan move came from Newcastle's 0-2 loss that day, namely the award of a Carabao Cup winner's medal to Dubravka for his service in earlier rounds of the competition. 

A shoulder injury to Pope in the final stages of a 1-0 PL home win over Manchester United in December 2023 saw Martin come off the bench to replace him, retaining his place for subsequent games.

That was also the case in December 2024 when Dubravka filled in for the injured Pope and it coincided with a run of eight straight wins in all competitions.

He featured in both legs of the Carabao Cup semi-final win over Arsenal before his last game for Newcastle which was the home FA Cup defeat to Brighton, signing for newly-promoted Burnley.

He made an emotional return to SJP in December 2025 for the Clarets, although he conceded a direct corner to his former colleague Bruno Guimaraes, also gifting the ball to the Brazilian at Turf Moor a few weeks later.

1997 Kyle Cameron born, Hexham.
(2012-18).

Central defender who appeared for both Cramlington Juniors and Northburn before linking up with United while still at school.

Debuting at U18 level in a 1-0 home victory over Stoke City the following September, Kyle soon became a regular starter and signed a scholarship in April 2013. 

Having featured in pre-season reserve friendlies against Hamilton Academical and Spennymoor United, November 2013 saw Kyle make his competitive U21 bow.

That came during an incident-packed 2-6 loss to Aston Villa at Burton, Cameron on the pitch throughout a game that stood 3-2 in favour of Villa just minutes from time.

Having previously represented England at U16 level, Cameron featured for Scotland U17s in a 2-0 friendly win over Serbia at Kilmarnock's Rugby Park in February 2014.

Selected for a European Championship qualifying tournament in Scotland, Kyle helped the Scots reach the last four of the final tournament in Malta that same year.

Restricted mostly to U18 action during the 2014/15 season, Cameron featured at U21 level in the following campaign and also played three games on loan for Northern Premier League side Workington over the festive period - scoring on his debut.

2015/16 found him loaned out to League Two York City, staying in the fourth tier the next season with Newport County - although his stint was cut short by injury.

Following half a season back in United's U23s, Kyle was loaned out to Queen of the South during January 2018. The following June then saw him released by Newcastle.

Joining Conference South side Torquay United the following month, he helped them to one promotion but lost out on a place in League Two in 2021, beaten on penalties in the playoff final by Hartlepool United.

That was Cameron's final game for the Gulls and he joined Notts County ahead of the 2021/22 season, helping the other Magpies gain promotion back to League Two in 2023.

Loaned to St. Johnstone for the first part of the 2024/25 season, a further temporary departure then saw saw him off Barrow in January 2025.

He signed for League Two side Bromley in June 2025.